Interior Designers Understand the Value of Health and Wellness in the Built Environment

10/3/2016

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Washington, D.C. - The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) was a featured research partner in the new SmartMarket Report by Dodge Data & Analytics. “The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016: Tactical Intelligence to Transform Building Design and Construction SmartMarket Report” reveals that the business benefits of healthier buildings are driving increased attention across the design and construction industry to factors that impact physical health, social health, mental health, and well-being, and are leading building owners, developers, managers, and investors to an increased interest in creating healthier buildings.

ASID assisted in crafting the survey used to collect data for the report and played a key role in distributing the survey to the Society’s interior designer members. Health, wellness, and well-being in the built environment are central to the ASID mission.

“The interior design community understands the importance of creating healthier buildings,” said Randy Fiser, ASID CEO. “The Society’s goal is to continually provide leading data and research that advances the health and wellness conversation on behalf of the profession.”

Information revealed in the SmartMarket report shows that the interior design community is at the forefront of acknowledging the importance of creating healthier buildings and environments, with interior designers and architects credited with leading the industry in the use of healthy building practices. Additionally, interior designers were found to be in alignment with owners’ goals for “happier and healthier building occupants.”

“The increased attention to building health impact is just the beginning,” said Stephan A. Jones, senior director of Industry Insights at Dodge Data & Analytics. “In a similar way several years ago, companies engaged in green construction because of the demonstrable business and financial benefits they were able to achieve. The findings of this report demonstrate that the focus on buildings that enhance the health and well-being of their occupants is likely to follow a similar trajectory, boosted by those who have committed to sustainability in their organizations.”

In addition to the Society’s participation in the SmartMarket Report by Dodge Data & Analytics, the ASID Foundation’s annual Transform Grant awards up to $100,000 in support of evidence-based research projects that address the impact of design on the human experience.

“Research translates into education,” Fiser said. “When the research is done, ASID looks for platforms and mechanisms – whether it’s online, written, or live engagement points – where we can talk about the subject and push it out to our members. Because of this, we are proud to participate in the SmartMarket Report and applaud Dodge Data & Analytics for conducting this study of wellness in the built environment.”

Additional highlights from the report include:

According to interior designers and architects, investment in healthier buildings is improved by public awareness of the health impacts of buildings.

Sixty-nine percent of owners that measure employee satisfaction and engagement report improvement in these areas due to healthier building investments.

According to public health professionals, the most common policies currently in place to support healthier building practices are requirements to avoid the use of hazardous materials in buildings.

Key policy areas currently being considered include incentives that encourage physical activity and ongoing requirements for air quality.